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Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

is used (a) of space and time, "long," said of prayers (in some mss., Matthew 23:14 ), Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47; (b) of distance, "far, far" distant, Luke 15:13; 19:12 . See LONG.

properly a feminine form of the adjective above, denotes "a long way, far," (a) literally, Matthew 8:30 , RV, "afar off." Luke 7:6; 15:20 , RV, "afar off;" John 21:8; Acts 17:27; 22:21; (b) metaphorically, "far (from the kingdom of God)," Mark 12:34; in spiritual darkness, Acts 2:39; Ephesians 2:13,17 . See AFAR.

from "far" (akin to No. 1), Mark 8:3 : see AFAR.

is used (a) literally, Luke 14:32 , "a great way off;" the comparative degree porroteron, "further," is used in Luke 24:28; (b) metaphorically, of the heart in separation from God, Matthew 15;8; Mark 7:6 . See FURTHER , WAY. Cp. porrothen, "afar off;" see AFAR.

Notes: (1) In Matthew 16:22 , Peter's word to the Lord "be it far from Thee" translates the phrase hileos soi, lit., "(God be) propitious to Thee," RV, marg., "God have mercy on Thee." Some would translate it "God avert this from Thee!" Others render it "God forbid!" Luther's translation is "spare Thyself." Lightfoot suggests "Nay, verily!" or "Away with the thought!" It was the vehement and impulsive utterance of Peter's horrified state of mind. Hileos signifies "propitious, merciful," Hebrews 8:12 . See MERCY , C. (2) In Luke 22:51 , "thus far" translates the phrase heos toutou, lit., "unto this." (3) In Galatians 6:14 the RV, "far be it" translates the phrase me genoito, lit., "let it not be," elsewhere translated idiomatically "God forbid," e.g., Luke 20:16 . See FORBID. (4) In Hebrews 7:15 the AV "far more" translates perissoteron, RV, "more abundantly;" see ABUNDANT. (5) In the following the verb apodemeo, "to go abroad," is rendered, in the AV, "to go into a far country," RV, "to go into another country," Matthew 21:33; 25:14; Mark 12:1; in Matthew 25:15 , RV, "he went on his journey" (AV, "took etc."). In Luke 15:13 the AV and RV have "took (his) journey into a far country;" in Luke 20:9 , RV, "another country," for AV, "a far country." The adjective apodemos in Mark 13:34 is rendered in the AV, "taking a far journey," RV, "sojourning in another country." See JOURNEY. (6) In 2 Corinthians 4:17 the phrase kath' huperbolen is translated "more and more," RV, for AV, "a far more." (7) In the following, heos, used as a preposition, is translated "as far as" in the RV, for different words in the AV; Acts 17:14 , in the best mss., instead of hos, which the AV renders "as it were;" Acts 17:15 , "unto;" Acts 23:23 , "to." Both versions have "as far as" in Acts 11:19,22; in Luke 24:50 , the RV has "until they were over against," for AV, "as far as to." (8) In Revelation 14:20 , the preposition apo, "from," is translated "as far as" in the RV, for AV, "by the space of."